TRAY DARBY: Recommended Contractor
I have survived the project from hell, mostly because of the contractor from heaven—Tray Darby. Let me explain. The project began as a kitchen renovation—nothing fancy, mainly a moderate-budget redo of a 50 year-old environment. Then things began to happen: The tile floor was removed to reveal that the sub-flooring in some areas had rotted…
I have survived the project from hell, mostly because of the contractor from heaven—Tray Darby. Let me explain.
The project began as a kitchen renovation—nothing fancy, mainly a moderate-budget redo of a 50 year-old environment. Then things began to happen:
The tile floor was removed to reveal that the sub-flooring in some areas had rotted away. New sub-flooring was needed. Tray was on it, without missing a beat.
The original sub-flooring was removed to reveal areas with weak or non-existent floor beams. New beams needed to be laid. Tray was on it, without missing a beat.
The original cabinets were removed to reveal a heretofore hidden, weight-bearing column of bricks that impinged on the kitchen by three inches. As a result, a nonbearing wall needed to be moved. Tray was on it, without missing a beat.
And finally, the decorative casing around the weight-bearing wood ceiling beam and two-story wood column was removed (for aesthetic reasons) to reveal: a) damage from powder-post beetles and b) weakening from checking along the length of the column. Both structural pieces needed to be replaced with steel. Tray was on it.
For this last “adventure,†Tray brought in an engineer, iron-workers, and a crew to install temporary supports for the building. Harrowing? Absolutely. Scary? For sure. But at every turn Tray was on it, absorbing my anxiety and making me feel secure. And I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
Here is what I would say about Tray:
1. Tray has an excellent sense of how to use space. He and I (mostly he) designed the kitchen. No interior decorator or architect was needed, a significant cost-saving.
2. Tray has a deep knowledge of how to put together and schedule the various skilled workers needed for a complex project.
3. The members of Tray’s crew are highly skilled, personable individuals very sensitive to the importance of leaving a work area clean and free of debris.
4. Tray’s cost estimates are detailed and true. The cost of my project grew due to the problems described above. Absent those problems, the final bill would have matched the original estimate.
5. Tray is a finisher, both literally and figuratively. He personally did much of the finishing work in the kitchen, so it was sure to meet his exacting standards. Moreover, he was available and present on the job throughout the project; he did not disappear toward the end, as many contractors do.
Tray is a person of great integrity. He is honest, responsible, and a pleasure to work with. I recommend him without hesitation or qualification.
It’s great to have a good contractor, but this sounds scripted to me.
Did you independently verify all the problems you found, or did you rely entirely on Trey and people he brought in to tell you what problems there were and what needed to be done. For every honest contractor who deals properly and reasonably with unexpected problems — and there always are some — there’s a contractor who will try to take advantage and expand the job. Not saying which is the case here, because I don’t know, but your description makes me somewhat leery without more knowledge of how the job went down.